As Kids

By: Kinomi Shadow

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Baskets.

"Remember when we were kids?" Ayame asked as he, Shiguri, and Hatori sat at the kitchen table with the other zodiac members and Tohru.

Ayame sat on the floor playing with blocks. At four years of age, he, Shiguri, and Hatori loved playing together. Though usually they ended up fighting.

"I wike to bwuild things," Ayame said happily. "Mommy wikes be better when I dowen't bwother her."

Hatori blinked and took from his bag a doctor costume.

"Lets play check up," Hatori said innocently. "I'll be Dr. Hatori!"

Shiguri and Ayame frowned.

"No!" Shiguri said. "I wanna play another game! I know! Let's go read my daddy's magazines! They say Playboy on them! They must be for playing!"

Hatori went pale.

"My mommy say those magazine are innerproprate!" Hatori said. "Which means they're bad!"

"Nonsense!" Shiguri said, taking out the magazine and looking inside. "How can it be- aaah! Th-there are girls in here! And they're- GROSS!"

Shiguri took out a match and burned it.

"It was evil!" Shiguri said. "I'm NEVER gonna play with girls ever again!"

Ayame was still playing blocks.

"You shoulda known betta," Ayame said. "That's why our mommy's want us to shuddup. We onwy get in twouble."

Hatori sighed, taking a toy broom and sweeping up the mess.

"I wish mommy could hug me," Hatori said sadly. "But instead I turn into a dragon..."

"No you don't!" Shiguri said, completely forgetting the tramatizing magazine he had burned only a couple of minutes earlier. "You turn into a fish! A weird, little fish!"

Hatori sighed and took out his teddy bear, Fumiko, and put his toy "blood pressure thingy" around its neck squeezing the life out of poor Fumiko.

"He's got chicken pox," Hatori explained. "He'll get better."

Ayame looked at him, at Hatori's silly little outfit, and smiled big.

"Me knows somethin'!" Ayame said.

Shiguri and Hatori looked at their playmate.

"Knows what?" They asked together.

Ayame grinned really big, his two front teeth missing.

"Lets pway dwess up!" Ayame said. "I'll be a cwothin' stowe owna, Hatowi can stay a doctow, and Shiguwi can wite books!"

Hatori and Shiguri smiled.

"That's a great idea!" Hatori said happily.

"Cool!" Shiguri said.

And they all played dress up.

"Yeah!" Shiguri said. "I remember! Boy, we had a blast."

"God help me now," said Hatori as he left the table to go back to the Sohma house.

The End